2 Chronicles 26:1–15

Uzziah Succeeds Amaziah in Judah

¹And all the people of Judah took ¹Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the place of his father Amaziah.

²He built Eloth and restored it to Judah after the king slept with his fathers.

³Uzziah was ^asixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was ¹Jechiliah of Jerusalem.

⁴He did right in the sight of the Lord according to all that his father Amaziah had done.

^5aHe continued to seek God in the days of Zechariah, ^bwho had understanding ¹through the vision of God; and ^2cas long as he sought the Lord, God prospered him.

Uzziah Succeeds in War

⁶Now he went out and ^awarred against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabneh and the wall of Ashdod; and he built cities in the area of Ashdod and among the Philistines.

^7aGod helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians who lived in Gur-baal, and the Meunites.

⁸The Ammonites also gave ^atribute to Uzziah, and his ¹fame extended to the border of Egypt, for he became very strong.

⁹Moreover, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at ^athe Corner Gate and at the ^bValley Gate and at the corner buttress and fortified them.

¹⁰He built towers in the wilderness and ^ahewed many cisterns, for he had much livestock, both in the ¹lowland and in the plain. He also had plowmen and vinedressers in the hill country and the fertile fields, for he loved the soil.

¹¹Moreover, Uzziah had an army ready for battle, which ¹entered combat by divisions according to the number of their muster, ²prepared by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the official, under the direction of Hananiah, one of the king’s officers.

¹²The total number of the heads of the ¹households, of valiant warriors, was 2,600.

¹³Under their direction was an ¹elite army of ^a307,500, who could wage war with great power, to help the king against the enemy.

¹⁴Moreover, Uzziah prepared ¹for all the army shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows and sling stones.

¹⁵In Jerusalem he made engines of war invented by skillful men to be on the towers and on the corners for the purpose of shooting arrows and great stones. Hence his ¹fame spread afar, for he was marvelously helped until he was strong.